The Christchurch bomber killed 51 people and injured dozen other Muslim believers. A unique act in the history of New Zealand for which he received a previously unique sentence.
Christchurch - The Christchurch assassin is imprisoned for the rest of his life. Judge Cameron Mander sentenced the 29-year-old right-wing extremist from Australia to life in prison on Thursday with no possibility of early release . With the verdict after a four-day hearing, one and a half years after the attacks on two mosques with 51 dead and 50 injured, one of the darkest chapters in the recent history of the Pacific state has ended - at least from a legal point of view. Because many of those affected will never forget the massacre.
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the life sentence for the assassin. "I hope today is the last day on which we have reason to hear or speak the name of the terrorist behind it," said the 40-year-old on Thursday shortly after the verdict was announced. "He deserves total silence for life." Ardern also praised the strength of the Muslim community. "Nothing will take the pain away, but I hope you have felt the arms of New Zealand around you throughout this process."
Christchurch: offender gets life without parole - "great risk to public safety"
"You were motivated by a general hatred of people who you believe are different from yourself. (...) They pose a great risk to public safety," Mander said before the sentence was announced. The defendant followed the judge's statements with no apparent emotion.
Prosecutor Mark Zarifeh had previously also pleaded for life without parole. There has never been a sentence like this in New Zealand . Zarifeh stressed that the attacks were "a painful and harrowing moment in New Zealand history". He also emphasized how underhanded the perpetrator had acted: "Many of those who were shot kneeled in prayer and had their backs turned to the shooter." Both the prosecutor and the judge said that the defendant was completely lacking in empathy.
Christchurch assassination: 51 people died, 50 others injured
Brenton Tarrant had in March 2019 attacked two mosques in New Zealand and killed 51 people . 50 others were injured, some of them life-threatening. The perpetrator transmitted the meticulously planned massacre to the Internet using a helmet camera. The crime is considered to be the most devastating in recent history of the Pacific state. Many survivors still suffer from the consequences, are unable to work or have to live with severe pain. As a result, the government tightened gun laws.
What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand. Many of those affected will be members of our migrant communities - New Zealand is their home - they are us.
- Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) March 15, 2019Tarrant had initially pleaded not guilty after the fact, but in March suddenly pleaded guilty on all counts. There was therefore no main hearing. He was charged with 51 murders, 40 attempted murders and terrorism . The extremist is the first accused to be convicted under the Terrorism Suppression Act of 2002.
Christchurch: Perpetrator did not comment in court
He had previously refrained from expressing himself in court. The announcement allayed months of fears that the defendant could use the courtroom for self-expression and as a platform for spreading right-wing extremist views. Instead, a compulsory attorney read out a brief statement stating that the defendant would not oppose a life sentence without parole.
Several dozen of those affected were in the courtroom while the verdict was being delivered. Hundreds more followed her via live stream. Snipers were positioned on the roof of the High Court in Christchurch , and the security presence was huge.
In the past few days, more than 80 survivors and bereaved relatives made statements in court. They often addressed the perpetrator directly in emotional statements. Many had urged the judge to imprison the assassin forever. ( dpa / fn )